Unexpected Possibilities: Dominoes
by Neo the Saiyan angel
Summary: The universe is a very strange place. Herein lies the story of what happens when the multiverse hiccups, and the smallest of changes cascades into a series of earth-shattering events. Twenty two years after James Possible and Drew Lipsky hook up...
1. Branching Off

**Prologue**

"Hahaha! Oh man, can you believe that? Building _robot women_ to take as dates? What was he _**thinking**_?!"

Ramesh wiped his eyes with the end of his rolled-up sleeve and shrugged. "I do not know. I will have to ask him what he had taken so I will not take it. That kind of crazy is not one that I would like to catch."

Another laughing fit rippled through the three friends. James had to drop to his knees to support his weight as his legs gave out on him. Ramesh took a shaky step sideways to use Chen as support to keep from falling and Chen counterbalanced on him.

It took a few minutes more for them to finally get a hold of themselves, the laughter trickling down to random bits of giggling.

Chen was the first one to try talking, letting out a small sigh of relief beforehand. "Weeellllll, now that Drew's lady-fetching attempts have failed in amazing proportions, what should we do now?"

It was James' turn to shrug as he picked himself off the floor and stood back up, brushing his pants free from the small bits of grit that clung to them.

"Why should Drew's bogus attitude ruin our night?" Ramesh asked. "I say we go to the mixer and really let loose the boogy!"

James gave a belly laugh and was about to reply when the sudden twinge of a feeling hit him deep in his gut. The cold knot in his stomach made him frown and turn away from his friends, to look down the hallway opposite them and try to figure out what it was.

It took him a second to recognize that small gut-clenching cold. He hadn't felt that since he had teased his older sister and blew up her 18th birthday cake in front of half of her class and making her pet hamster disappear into the time-space continuum:

it was guilt.

_Guilt!_

Why did he feel guilty? Why _should_ he feel guilty? It was just good-natured jabbing after all. It was a silly thing, really. Just silly. Nothing to feel bad about. He shouldn't feel bad at all!

But…

As he looked down the hallway again where his friend had run, fists clenched and a scowl on his face, the small knot tightened in his gut.

Yup. He felt guilty.

Drew _was_ their friend after all. He had looked pretty angry when he had left, ranting about how someday people would recognize his genius. And it wasn't like he was trying to do anything bad or strange on purpose.

On the other hand, Drew had made ridiculous robot women to try and replace real women as dates to a party. Really.

'_Robot women'_ he tried to reason with himself. '_He had built __**robot women**__ for us to take to a dance. We would've been laughed right out the door!'_

'_But at least he tried the best way he knew how_' the small voice in the back of his head responded. '_Besides, didn't you just manage to laugh _**him **_out the door instead? You should at least check on him_'

James shifted uncomfortably and looked at his other friends who were mimicking the robot women in a twisted sort of parody. He didn't want to let this get to him. Drew was just being silly about all of it.

He should just…just go to the dance and let Drew cool off. Maybe.

The scene froze as James balanced the two choices that lay before him in his mind, the color draining away as time stopped around him.

James' next actions would determine how the rest of his life went, as unbelievable as he might think it. It would also affect everyone around him whether he realized it or not. If he were to go with Chen and Ramesh to the science mixer, he would meet a lovely young pre-med student named Anne that he would develop a crush on. He'd eventually build up the nerve to ask her out on a date and she would accept and they'd end up living happily ever after in suburban bliss with their daughter and twin boys.

If, however, he went check on Drew, his life would take a dramatic turn. He would never meet Anne. Instead, she would meet a military man at the mixer who was asked to be there as a guard of sorts to make sure no 'unruly hooligans' ruined their dance as they had a few times in the past. She would find herself attracted to him and he, like her, would also realize that he liked her. Being the gentleman of tradition he was, he would eventually and bashfully ask her out on a date. They would eventually fall in love and get married in a dream wedding with the dress, the flowered arch, and a ten-gun salute. James may see her wandering campus at some point later, but he would still end up falling in love with someone else just as she had done with the military man.

The scene unpaused, the grey brightening back to colors as James finished the thoughts currently battling in his head with a compromise.

It wouldn't hurt to just go check on him, would it? Just a quick look to make sure that nothing was wrong. They were friends after all. And it wouldn't eat out of his party time. Barely even a few minutes.

"Sorry guys," James replied with a small smile, turning to go the opposite direction. "But we ARE Drew's friends. One of us should make sure he's okay." He started walking down the hallway and gave a backwards wave, adding "Don't worry. Once I make sure Drew's not doing anything drastic like calling his mother to complain about things here, we'll be down there to dance the night away. Not like this will take all that long. Just need to check…"

* * *

_ Ohlook, another one of my stories. But wait...what's this? I've written this one out ahead of time?! Jeepers!_

_ Yup. It's true. I have actual chapters and most of this story finished. Thanks to the editing of the wonderful Star-Eva01 (though he didn't get to edit this prologue...), this interesting idea I had a year ago is going to start being posted._

_ The story universe (if I ever actually write other stories which, by my record, is doubtful XD) is Unexpected Possibilities and the story is Dominoes. Hope you enjoy the prologue. I'll post the next chapter. Next month probably. _

_ And as for James' sister? Cousin Larry had a mother after all. And I'm pretty sure his name was Larry Possible, wasn't it? If it wasn't, then eh, I'm taking liberties.  
_


	2. Average Day

Chapter 1

_22 years later..._

On the television screen, a whirl of color suddenly appeared. In just a second or two it disappeared, leaving a character dressed in a futuristic reflective silver outfit with gauntlets, boots, and a protective vest. The next instant, he jumped behind an intricately carved rock pillar. He hastily made his way to the next rock pillar, shooting his spectacularly over-designed ray gun at several oddly human-looking aliens.

He ducked and dodged the attacks from the opposing forces; forces which were using weapons similar to his own. The man continued weaving his way through the stone pillars, and made his way through the hall while blasting anyone that even so much as raised their heads in his direction. Almost immediately they started to fall to his superior marksmanship: first one, then two, then four more until he quit counting when it reached ten, their antennae flapping about wildly and their garbled alien-speak screaming their death-cries as they went down.

At the end of the hallway stood a grand door with carvings of multi-legged dragons lining it, a door that stood between the soldier and his target. One shot was all it took; the door was vaporized in a cloud of smoke rising from where it had hung as he entered the room and started down the stairs.

He slowed his gait as he cleared the stairs down to the central area, a depression in the middle of the spherical royal chamber. As he entered, he stopped and leveled his gaze at the figure seated on a chair that could only be called a throne. A figure, which by the look of it, was too taken aback by his sudden appearance and could only gape at him.

"Where are my crewmates?" the soldier spoke, his voice echoing in the large chamber, his eyes never wavering from the figure on the ornate chair.

"Ah. Captain Constellation." The alien shifted in its seat, its expression changing from open-jawed surprise to a smug grin. "I didn't expect to see you here in one piece." The alien stood, the various bangles on its arms somehow staying in place as the immaculate dress it wore straightened, the bright checkered fabric splaying across the dirty floor.

The alien raised its long, slender arms, beckoning to Constellation as its expression shifted to a type of morbid curiosity. "Why don't you just give up on saving these foolish peasants? They mean nothing to you! I promise…" it put its fingers over the blue and gold cloverleaf symbol on its chest "…that I will let you and your squad go if you just leave quietly. Now."

The captain stood and listened silently through the small rant, his eyes narrowing as the creature made its offer. He seemed to take a minute to contemplate the offer, but it soon became clear what his response was as his weapon was suddenly aimed at the tyrannical ruler.

"Leave quietly, you say? Let these poor innocent members of the tribe you enslaved continue to work, to barely survive, while you and your mercenaries live like kings while you continue to laugh at the misfortune that you yourself cause?" Captain Constellation said as he took a step forward.

Suddenly, the room became a flurry of sound and motion. The walls suddenly opened up and soldiers poured out of them, leveling various weapons at the human soldier; some held ray guns, others simple wood and steel spears that were primitive but still lethal, and the rest were equipped with energy swords, their tips blazing hot enough to warp the surrounding air.

"Will you really waste the lives of your men?" the alien leader asked.

"And women!" a feminine voice added from somewhere.

The leader sighed. "Will you really waste the lives of your men _**AND**_ women like this?" It waved to the numerous fighters which now had their sights set on the captain. "You are obviously outmatched. However…" it paused as it clasped its clawed hands together "…you are very talented. It would be such a shame to destroy you since you refuse to leave. Why don't you and your men _**AND**_ women join me; if you truly feel that these pathetic creature's lives are worth improving, you could always direct them yourself. Under us, of course."

Again, the alien paused before continuing, "You could have whatever you wanted, Captain. Anything you desired could be at your disposal. Join us or you and your crew will not only die, but we'll make sure to put you through the slowest, most hellish pain that can be conceived before you expire." Apparently finished, the alien sat back down in its throne, setting his head down upon its still-clasped hands and staring intently at Constellation, almost like laser sights on prey.

Captain Constellation took a slow, deliberate look around the room before facing the leader again. Straightening his stance, he let his arm fall back to his side and shook his head.

"Do you honestly think that I do this…WE do this for the perks or possessions? We don't do this for such trivial things. Myself and my crewmates don't thrust ourselves into dangerous situations for the power or glory that could be obtained from it. We do this for the safety of the universe. To make sure that people everywhere are not oppressed or unhappy, that their lives are meaningful and free from corrupting forces. We fight to make sure that those wonderful people are not made to be slaves to tyrants such as yourself. You will not succeed in this scheme of yours to suppress the native population and mine for the triphosphorus crystals!"

The alien let out a disdainful snort, its smile turning into a wicked smirk. "So you think you can take us with such odds? Hehehe…" The light chuckle turned into a harsh, full-blown cackle which echoed throughout the room.

The view on the television screen slowly started backing from the view of the captain and the alien leader to show all of the people in the room.

The scene suddenly froze.

"Will Captain Constellation be able to escape the calamity which has befallen his comrades?

Can he save them before a fate worse than death befalls them?

Can the Dum Tribe be saved from enslavement?

Tune in next week for 'The New Adventures of Captain Constellation'!"

The announcer's voice trailed off, disappearing into the ending song as the credits whirled by. As the scene changed to a commercial for generic brain bleach from a company of ill-repute, the television was turned off, the screen fading to its original clear reflective surface.

Across the room a small, pale hand dropped the comparatively larger controller onto a plush crimson cushion, the softened thud accompanied by a sigh from the opposite end of the matching couch.

"I'm bored." said a voice with a bit of pout.

The owner of the voice, a boy that looked to be no older than 10 with a round face topped with black hair set in a frown with his dark blue eyes, set watching a boy sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "Eddie, isn't there something else to do? I know we can't play with our toys right now…" he scooted over toward the other end "…but that doesn't mean we should just sit here being upset and such. Does it? Can't we do _something_ besides watch crummy TV shows and sit?"

The other boy, his messy copper hair bouncing slightly as he turned his head to meet the gaze, sneered. "So why don't _you_ do something about it, huh? Why sit there and whine to me? You could go help Aunty Am in the kitchen like a good little baby."

The smaller boy gave the other one a little pout. "That's not very nice."

"It's also not very nice to complain about something without trying to do something about it yourself. Unless you really are that big of a crybaby. Like I already know you are." Eddie smirked as his brother's face turned red, his cheeks puffing in irritation of like those likeof a chipmunk with a full load of food.

"If Mommy were here, you wouldn't be saying something like that. It's-"

"-hurting with words? Yeah, yeah, I know." Edward waved off the phrase like it was an annoying fly buzzing around his head. He stretched and let loose an enormous yawn, his thin wire glasses shifting slightly on his stubby nose, before adding, "So what, I should think that you're such a big boy being able to complain like that, _Theodore_?"

"Don't call me that, _Edward_," Theodore growled.

Eddie kept going like he hadn't heard anything, his voice taking on a casual tone. "I can certainly see why you'd complain like that now. It's not like anyone can stop you." His smile turned positively vicious. "After all, it seems to be the only thing you're really good at." It only took a second for the gibe to get the expected complaint.

"I'm good at lots of things!" the younger one protested loudly.

"Such as…?" The taunt still hadn't left his words.

"I can make lasers. And rockets. And don't forget that antigravity gun I had!" Teddy checked off the different devices with his fingers, his eyes twisted toward the craggy ceiling as he tried to remember all of the machines he'd built.

"Yawn." Eddie stood up from the couch and strolled to the center of the large unevenly walled room. "That stuff's all easy to do. And that antigravity gun was a laser you didn't make right, so it doesn't count."

"So? It's not like you build anything cooler," his brother grumbled irritably.

"I could if I actually wanted to," he shrugged. "I'm just fine with what I build. If I get bored, I'll probably build a weather machine or something." His pale, though still darker than his brother's, hand closed around a small screwdriver that was sitting on a bench a few feet away from the couch. The gait he had didn't disappear until his feet had brought him back over to the couch. Once he was within arm's reach, the elder child let his body sag over the top, slowly sliding back down into his seat. The screwdriver was spun in his hand for a minute or so, the younger boy having already started staring into space, before he added, "But yeah, with Aunt Amy here, we can't really do much of anything."

They sat in silence for another few minutes, the only noise being made in the room coming from a few random machines sitting about and from Eddie hitting his knuckles with the tool. The silence wasn't too much of a bother…unless you were a ten-year-old. Like, for instance, Teddy. So, with the complete lack of noise driving him on, he made an obvious observation.

"Mommy's not gonna be real happy when he gets back, huh?"

Eddie pulled himself up so that he was sitting upright and made a mock thinking pose, complete with his face scrunched up in concentration and one eye squinting into the distance.

"Yes, I'm sure Mom's gonna be _real_ happy once he hears what we did. Because _**blowing the roof off of the gym**_ is really a good thing for a kid to do." Eddie shifted his gaze to his little brother, his expression turning into a condescending frown. Teddy squirmed as he realized that even in the dread-filled time before their mother got home, stupid-flavored questions weren't allowed.

It was a few minutes more before the silence was once again broken, this time by a droning sort of noise from one of the several hallways which led out of the room. It grew steadily louder, the noise developing a predictable pattern and taking on a feminine tone. While Eddie sighed in resignation, Teddy jumped to his feet excitedly, his mouth drooling in anticipation.

She entered with her hips swinging slowly and her face twisted into a delightful smile, her eyes closed as she made a show of inhaling from a plate she was carrying piled high with cookies, cookies which the younger boy already had his eyes focused on and his mouth drooling over. Meanwhile, the elder boy slumped back into the couch, his eyes narrowing in disgust and his mouth set in a sharp thin line, barely visible to anyone that looked.

"Who's ready for some yummy snackie-wackies?" the plump woman in the Cuddlebuddy-enhanced sweater asked sweetly, her voice carrying her words on an invisible melody. "I made some snickerdoodles for you adorable little boys." Giggling, she held the tray out for them to take the snacks from.

Teddy wasted no time in getting his hands on several of the cookies, shoving them in his mouth with a relish that could only be seen in an excited child. Eddie, meanwhile, continued to grumble, doing his best to look disgruntled at the development.

"Oh, what wrong little sugar booger?" Amy strolled over to the couch as the younger boy eagerly followed, his eyes trained on the tray as it was slowly emptied into his mouth.

After sitting and keeping himself in check for a scant few moments, Eddie finally answered. "I can't believe that you're baking cookies-" he glared at DNAmy "-and your eating cookies-" his gaze shifted to his brother, who guiltily swallowed the last mouthful and gave a bashful smile to the grumpy sibling "-when we're doomed! Mom's not gonna let this just go by like that! And even if he does, Dad won't let it slide." He stood up and began pacing in front of the confused babysitter and his brother, who was starting to become nervous.

"Aww, c'mon. Mommy and Daddy won't be angry." Teddy drew tentatively closer to his brother. "We've done worse things before." The younger boy's expression brightened. "Remember what we did at the last family reunion? Cuz's hair will never be the same again!"

"Yeah, but that's an exception; that cousin's a jerk." Eddie stopped pacing and turned back to the two. "This was majorly bad, Teddy. The whole place came down! The teachers were screaming and crying and everything. We aren't just gonna be grounded for a week or so. We're gonna be grounded for forever!" He made his way over to the couch and slumped back down. "We're so dead."

Amy stood uncertainly for a minute, her smile having left her face as the gloomy mood started to set in before her usual cheery demeanor came back full-force. "I'm sure you're exaggerating, snookems. Your parents won't be too upset about it. Accidents do happen." She giggled a little and walked over to the couch. "They'll understand that you didn't mean to bring the house down. And I'm sure that it won't be too much of a bother to fix it." To emphasize her point, she rubbed her hand in his hair, her rings giving off a dull sparkle in the low light of the room.

"Ouchy!" Eddie grabbed the top of his head and sniffled a bit as Amy pulled her hand away.

"Oopsy! Sorry about that." Looking at her hand, she removed a few hairs that had gotten caught in one of her rings. "That happens sometimes. But I can't _bear_ to take this ring off." She sat down on the couch next to Eddie and set what was left of the cookies down next to her on the couch. Teddy promptly picked the tray back up and sat back down where it he had been, placing the treats on his lap and occasionally munching on one.

"Want to hear the story?" Amy added excitedly, looking in expectation at Eddie.

Rolling his eyes in irritation, the elder boy said, "Sure," before adding with a mutter, "it's not like you wouldn't if I said no anyway."

"Well then, I'll go ahead and tell! You see, it all started when I was looking for my Monty-kins in the Himalayan mountains." Her fingers moved to cover her mouth in thought. "He always did like those mystical thingies that were in those hard to get to places. Anyway, I had just picked up the trail of my Monty-wonty when-"

The noise of a large metal door screeching open in the distance caught the attention of the two boys, whose heads shot up and identical apprehensive looks passed over their features. Amy, however, didn't notice that the noise had taken the attention of her audience. Instead continuing like nothing was going on, which she probably believed.

"Monty was just SO surprised to see me! He was screaming and jumping around the room in joy." Amy giggled and swooned slightly. "He's _so_ romantic, swinging across the ceiling and playing hard-to-get like that… even made sure to slash my tires just to add more fun to the game!" Amy shook her head. "Anyway, he dropped this on the ground. I know because look!" She held her hand out for the boys to look at, though they had taken off running several seconds before hand. "It has a little monkey on it! Isn't that just adorable?"

"I suppose it's cute… but isn't it a bit dirty for you to be wearing?" a voice behind her replied. The voice, though louder than it should have been and slightly raspy, continued in a cheerful tone. "I take it that you finally got monkey-boy to propose, Amy? Congratulations are in order I guess."

Amy beamed at the new arrival. "Hehe… nope. He's still testing my devotion. But just wait until I finally prove to him how much my snookums means to me!" Jumping up, she twirled a bit and giggled. "Then we'll have our dream wedding! Oh, I can just see it now… white hanging from every corner of the room… cuddlebuddies set up at every table… the monkeys—"

"Where are the boys?" the man interrupted as he looked around the room.

"Oh… yes. The boys..." Finally being pulled from her daydream, Amy glanced around the room in surprise. She'd just assumed that the children had been listening to her incredible tale on how she got her ring. Apparently not. "I'm not sure where those cute little babes of yours went." She looked him up and down and gave an approving nod. ""You look nice, Drew. It's a shame there aren't more of you in the world."

Her eyes traveled along his somewhat muscular frame that was covered with a slightly dirty white work shirt. The khaki pants didn't look half bad either, helping to make him look a little taller than he was. She didn't seem to care that he was paler than a marshmallow, had overly large ears, a chin big enough to compete with Blue Deno, or that his hair was set up in messy spikes and an outdated mini-mullet.

He swallowed nervously and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Well, uh, Miss Hall, I'm afraid that I'm taken, so yes, the world will certainly—er, yes, they'll miss out . Hehe…" He looked around for a distraction. "Where _are_ they? I still need to talk with them about that conference I just had to go to. I made sure to call their father; he's on his way home right now. Oh, by the way, thanks for babysitting them for me. I owe you another favor."

Amy sighed happily. "It's nothing, Drew. It's just nice to see some of my babies out and about in the world. How have they been, Drew?"

Drew turned his attention back to the babysitter and wagged his finger. "Ah ah! First of all, they are **NOT** your 'babies'", he said throwing in "air quotes" as he said the word "babies." Then continued with, "While we'll be eternally grateful for your help in…uh…" Struggling for the appropriate word, he eventually gave up on using a highly eloquent term to describe her help, instead he just pushed on with "making them for us. They are OUR babies Amy. They're ours. Ours. O-R-S ours!"

"But 'ours' isn't spelled—"

"Second…" he cut her off once again as his expression and tone became filled with a mischievous, barely repressed glee, "they've been just a pair of regular old preteen genius boys with a love of building things." He chuckled. "Those two together kind of remind me of myself and James in college,." he added proudly.

DNAmy thought for a second. "But wouldn't that be incestuous?"

This made him blanch at the idea. "Where in the world—" He blinked, then his mono-brow furrowed. "Not like _that_!"

"I tried to talk to them, but all they did was mope." Amy cut off his complaint midway through. "I even baked some cookies to make them feel better!" Her hand waved in the direction of the couch, where a large bare platter sat.

"Hmm…looks like Ted and Ed cleaned you out," Drew observed as he tried to keep a straight face.

"Oh butter biscuits! I was sure I made enough for those little darlings," Amy fretted. "They are growing boys after all."

"Yes… and they'll be grounded boys once their father gets home," he growled in response, his slightly amused mood breaking.

"Now now, don't be too harsh with them. They're just—"

"They just blew the roof off of a public building full of people!" Drew interrupted again. "Just THINK of how much higher the insurance will go up!"

"Theodore explained it to me when I got here. They're just being boys, Drew." Amy blinked for a second and giggled again. "Oh my, would you listen to me! I sound just like a mother."

"**I**'m the only mother in this house." Drew thought for a second. "Wait, that didn't come out right."

A large crash in the distance followed by a high-pitched whine brought the two of them back to reality.

"Looks like we know where the boys went." Drew walked toward the door to his lab, expecting them to have constructed a robot or something to hold off the parental assault, with Amy trailing behind him. The long tunnel leading to the isolated warehouse-size room amplified the noises echoing from the room. When they finally got to the end, though, they found a slightly different scene waiting for them.

-----Five minutes earlier-----

"I don't wanna be grounded forever!" Teddy whined to his older brother as they fled down the hall leading to their mother's work area.

"Stop being such a baby. Why do you think we're going to Mom's lab?" Eddie gave a smirk. "We can't be grounded forever if we aren't here."

Teddy inclined his head toward Eddie, his confusion obvious. Noticing his brother's look out of the corner of his eye, Eddie sighed and proceeded to explain in what he liked to call 'lame-man's terms'.

"In order to ground us, we would have to be here for the grounding."

"Uhh…"

Eddie sighed in annoyance. "It's a wonder that you've managed to make it through school so far. What I mean is that we have to be here to have the privileges gone. If we weren't here…"

"Then we'd still be grounded." Teddy got a flick in the ear as a response. "Oww! Why do you always hafta hit me?"

"Because it's the only fun I get being stuck as your brother," Eddie retorted. They reached the end of the hallway where there was a large metal door with labels such as 'Danger', 'Keep Away', and 'Mother on Board!' stuck on the outside. Glaring at his little brother, he entered the code 1-2-3-4-5 into the panel next to the door. The door made a noise similar to metal rubbing against itself as it granted them entry. As the door finished opening, Eddie added, "Anyway, we have to pull out Mommy's old hovercar that he used before we tried to make it better."

Teddy had to cover his mouth to cut off the laughter as they walked through the opening. "Hehe…who woulda thought a supersonic jet engine that worked real good would've been so much fun? Mommy's hair was a mess for days!"

-----Present-----

"What in the…?" Drew's sentence trailed off as he and the mad geneticist walked into his lab.

"Oh my…it looks like they've been busy, doesn't it?" Amy said in awe. "It's hard to believe that it only took them a few minutes to make that."

"That's because **IT DIDN'T!**" Drew's voice grew in volume until he was practically screaming. "**BOYS, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY QUANTUM THRUST REVERSER AND MY HOVER CAR?!**"

His jaw was dropped and his eyes bulging at what had been his pet project for the past few years, the emphasis on the word 'had'. It looked like someone had taken a mass of metal and tried to melt it all together in an effort to combine them. The large saucer with scorch marks on the sides and numerous tears in various parts of its metal anatomy was attached by the back and front via what looked to be a poorly-done welding job to a semi-circular tube of metal, various wires trailing between the two devices and several tubes of metal were used to further keep the two machines attached.

"Uh oh," a voice said from somewhere within the mess of metal. "We're outta time!"

"Quick! Into the seat!" The two boys suddenly jumped out of the twisted metal construct into the barely intact seats and pushed a few buttons.

"**BOYS! **Get out of there NOW!" Drew's voice was more fearful than furious now, though a few wisps of anger creeped in through the edges. "You don't know what it might do! It could overload or—"

"You aren't gonna catch us like that, Mommy!" Teddy hit a few buttons on the hovercraft to start it up while Eddie hit some switches that hadn't originally been in the car. The device underneath the hovercar started to whir to life.

"Yeah, really. You can't trick us with something lame like tha… AAAAGH!" Eddie was cut off mid-mock by his mother who was now moving faster than anyone had ever seen him move before. He deftly grabbed both boys, dropped down off the machine, and ran for it.

'_They weren't even buckled in! I'll have a talk with them about safety later_' Drew thought, peeved. However, now was not the time for parental lecturing. First he had to make sure they'd be were safe. _Then_ he would give the boys a piece of his mind. With a child under each arm, he ran for the exit as fast as he could (which was a lot faster than most people thought) while yelling, "Runrunrunrunrun!".

Amy, not sure of what was going on, hesitantly followed. The machine wasn't really doing much of anything, really, so she didn't really see why they were running. It wasn't like—

A strained, grinding metal sound made the geneticist's thoughts come to a screeching halt. And and her legs to move much, much faster.

They had barely managed to get the doors to shut before a noise that sounded suspiciously like a wall collapsing upon it's self fell on their ears. Some dust managed to find its way under the door onto the side with the adrenaline-pumped people. Drew set the boys down while breathing heavily and Amy dusted them off.

"Oh, you poor dears," Amy said, dusting off one with a hand while she pulled a handkerchief out with the other. "Look at how messy you are." She licked the handkerchief and started to wipe off Eddie's face. "How about Aunty Amy cleans you up, hmm?"

"Eewww! That's gross!" Eddie tried to duck out of the way of the spittle-laden piece of cloth, but Amy was too fast and managed to get him right on the nose. "GAH!"

Drew, meanwhile, was looking them over for any sort of injuries. Bending down, he was now checking his youngest for boo-boos while Amy fussed over Eddie. Save for the irreparable stains on his clothing from the bits of oil, there wasn't anything wrong with either of them.

'_Thank goodness_' he thought, wiping away a non-existent tear. If anything had happened to them because of his projects he didn't…he wasn't sure he'd forgive himself…and he certainly wouldn't either.

"Good." He stood up, facing the now slightly dented door. "Now then, you two go get yourselves cleaned up before—"

"—their father gets home?"

"Yes, precis—" Drew blinked. "…we're too late, aren't we." It wasn't a question.

"Yes we are," James Possible said as he looked at his partner and their children. "Edward James Possible, Theodore Timothy Possible…" he cracked a smile "…what were you two doing to get your mother upset like this? And to get yourselves so messy?"

"You know I don't like it when you call me the mother," Drew huffed, obviously annoyed.

"And yet you call me the father," James playfully countered.

"Well…that's just semantics!"

"Exactly." James, content in having won the years-old argument yet again, turned his attention back to the boys, who were already trying to sneak down the hallway. "Boys?"

They stopped mid-step and turned back, their expressions angelically guilty.

"Well…" Eddie started.

"Eddie made me!" Teddy wailed, pointing at the elder brother and threatening to burst into tears. "H-he said that you were gonna g-ground us for the rest of our lives if we didn't go!" Eddie glared at him while both Drew and James looked surprised.

"Grounded?" Drew said.

"For the rest of your lives?" James said.

"Because of the gym incident?" asked Drew.

Drew and James stood there for a moment trading dumbfounded looks, and then promptly burst into laughter. Their children now had the same expressions as their parents had a few seconds before.

"Uh… why are you laughing?" Eddie asked. "Shouldn't you be… I dunno, yelling and telling us that we're bad or something like that?"

Wiping at a tear, James replied, "Boys, if I had a dollar every time one of us" he gestured to himself and Drew, who was still laughing, "blew up a building, we'd be millionaires."

"Soooo…you aren't angry?" Teddy hazarded.

Drew tut-ed. "Of course not."

"But earlier—"

"I overreacted. You should know that I do that a lot by now," Drew said. He walked over to his youngest and embraced him, oil and all. "You should also know that we love you. Enough so that we wouldn't do anything like that."

"Do you love us enough not to ground us at all?" Eddie asked hopefully.

"Son, if we did that, then we would be showing that we didn't love you." James patted Eddie on the head, which now wore a pouting scowl.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Teddy complained.

"If we didn't ground you, we'd be irresponsible parents," Drew told the two. "After all, you wouldn't learn anything if we didn't, now would you?"

"We learned not to use rockets to blow holes in the roof." Eddie gave Teddy a 'you IDIOT!' look for that comment.

The two scientists exchanged pleased looks. "Good."

"Huh?"

"Say what?"

"You're grounded for…a week?" James looked to Drew for confirmation and, getting a nod in return, looked back at the boys. "No TV, no video games, and no tinkering around with anything."

"**WHAT?!**" The boys could've been one person, their reaction was so in sync.

"But…but what will we do now? An entire week without anything fun to do?" Eddie grabbed his hair in anguish.

"You could always go outside," Drew said.

"Good idea." James said, "After all, getting a bit of sun is good for you." He looked meaningfully at his husband. It took a few seconds, but the look didn't go unnoticed.

Sighing, Drew grumbled, "Fine, fine, I'll start going on walks or something. Would that make you stop whining?"

"Of course it would." James let the comment slide off his back; he'd learned over the years that Drew, though grumpy and resentful sometimes, usually kept his word.

"I think this calls for a group hug!" Before any of them knew it, Amy had somehow managed to snag them all into her arms and squeeze them like so many a cuddlebuddiesy.

"Gah! Can't…breathe…" choked out Drew.

"Like getting a hug from Granny Lipsky," Eddie threw in.

"Ouch!" James said. Amy released them from her hug and looked at him.

"Are you okay, snookums?"

James rubbed his scalp tentatively. "What in the world just got me?"

"Must've been a bug," Amy said innocently.

"A bug?! Gah!" Drew began to flail about ineffectually.

As the three others tried to calm him down, Amy plucked the hairs from her ring and dropped them.

"A good guest knows when it's time to leave, so I think I'll be going now," Amy said in a sing-song voice as she skipped down the corridor.

James shook his head. "We can't just let you go like that! Stay for supper at least."

"Ohh, that's SO sweet. But I just remembered a teensy little errand that I need to take care of. So that dreamy din-din will have to wait. Ta-ta!" Her last words echoed as she left the four of them standing there confused.

"Oh…kay…uh, what just happened?" Drew asked.

"I think it was a whirlwind named Amy," James commented.

"Just think of what we could do if we harnessed all of the energy that Aunty Am has," Eddie whispered to his brother. They both started to giggle, which became infectious. Pretty soon, all four of them were laughing.

At least until the noise of breaking glass from behind the door caught their attention.

* * *

_ Bwahaha! ...yeah, this story is me experimenting kinda. Don't usually write stuff like this so thought I'd give it a try. Also, the idea amused me greatly. I'm not entirely sure how to totally convey some things or give descriptions for how people feel, so advice would be appreciated!  
_

_It took me a year and such to think up and write this thing, so I'm hoping that I can use this to improve my writing. Remember, I'll be grateful for feedback!_

_Also, thanks to Star-Eva01 for betaing this chapter. ^_^ And fallin_brick_blues for giving me advice on the prologue. EDIT: Also, thanks to Robert Teague for telling me a few things that were confusing that I tried to fix.  
_


	3. Not So Average Day

Chapter 2

"Nnnargh…I can't believe this." A deft hand chopped an onion into small squares and added it to a boiling pot. "First they blow up the gym, then they blow up my lab, and now **I** have to fix supper for everyone." Drew wiped his brow on the sleeve of his wrinkled shirt. "Maybe I should wander off somewhere…see how they like that!"

"Grumbling again, dear?" James walked in from the living room, a smile on his face and a newspaper in hand. He walked by the small Stucco countertops, setting the papers on them, and the laboratory-quality fridge to the glass-ceramic stove where his partner was cooking their dinner. "Hmm…let me guess,. Spaghetti?"

"…what makes you think that?" Drew threw some pureed tomatoes into the mix.

James' smile widened. "Because you **always** fix spaghetti on this day."

Drew's face twitched. "Ah. Yes. That could explain it."

James kissed Drew on the cheek. "Happy 19th Anniversary."

"So then…" Drew finished adding ingredients, set the stove so the food was simmering slowly, and turned. "…what's my gift?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you what you wanted as your gift. Anything you want."

Drew's face fell, then a scowl took hold of it. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Chuckling, James replied, "Nope. Just want to make sure my husband gets something he actually wants this year."

The scowl became a questioning stare. "What do you mean? I thought those gifts from before were…okay."

"Oh, really?" James asked skeptically.

"Yes really." Drew began counting off with his fingers. "The chocolates—"

"You didn't eat," James interrupted.

"Well, what about the dog?" Drew counted off with another finger.

"You fed it the year-old chocolates. Then the Easton Animal Rescue Squad took him. That's why we moved back to Middleton."

"Well…uh…whatever happened to the mixer?" Drew was grabbing for straws now.

"You gave it to the boys for parts." James's smile couldn't get any bigger.

"…oh." Drew stood for a minute as James celebrated his small triumph with a "Yes!" followed by an arm pump before leaning against the counter. "Well then…wait." He turned to James, a smile now playing on his features. "You say _anything_?"

James nodded in confirmation.

Drew's smile grew and threatened to consume his face as he walked over to the table and sat down in the chair across from his husband. "I want Hephaestus."

James started out, "I'm sure I can—" before the request really registered. He then gave his spouse the evil eye and asked "…wait. Could you repeat what you said again? I could have sworn that you just asked if you could have my project."

"Ye—"

"My _top secret_ project," James interrupted. "The project that just passed the initial limits and is going into testing for possible uses. The project…" he straightened up, leveling his gaze "…that could result in 'mysterious disappearances' if the wrong people" he pointed at Drew, whose eyebrow rose in surprise, "were to learn about it."

"WHAT?" Drew drew back with even more surprise. "Since when have I been 'the wrong people'?" He crossed his arms and pouted, turning his head to the side and puffing his cheeks slightly. "It's not like I'd do anything bad with it."

"Really?" One of James' eyebrows rose to mock his partner's surprise.

"Name _one_ thing that I—"

"The Centurion Project," James instantly offered.

Drew paused, his mouth still open mid-reply, before shutting it and glaring. "That wasn't my fault!"

James continued his stare. "Exactly how was that "not your fault"?"

Drew flinched, but resumed glaring at his husband. "You shouldn't have let me so close to the lab. You **know** I have a… a natural curiosity!" He petulantly flipped his head to the other side, refusing to directly face James. "Just leaving me to wander around like that was absolutely irresponsible of you."

As he nodded to convince himself of the lie, James just shook his head in disbelief and amusement. A few seconds later, Drew looked back at James and continued his defense.

"You didn't have to take me on the trip to that other lab, you know. You could have just left me to wait for you to get back," he accused.

"With the way you were begging to come along? That pout you had going and the fact that the boys were driving you mad? There would've been a murder if you hadn't gotten out." At this point, James was smiling, amused at his partner's denial of obvious facts. "You know I can't resist it when you beg."

Drew snorted. "Oh please. I was **not** begging. I was merely insisting with great… uhm… insistence." He stretched out and stood up, going over to the pot of cooking food and stirring it a little.

"Sorry dear, but I'm going to have to '_insist_' you find another gift that you want." James twisted in his chair to look at his husband's back. "Why would you want it, anyway? It's just a project that deals with self-replicating nanomachines." He squinted in thought and scratched his head. "There isn't a project you're working on right now that would be able to use it."

Drew visibly stiffened but didn't say anything.

James, however, noticed it out of the corner of his eye. "Dear… you aren't working on one of your 'secret' projects that you conveniently forgot to tell me about, are you?" He waited a second. When there was no response, he frowned a little. "…you are, aren't you?"

Drew shifted about guiltily as he stirred the nearly-finished meal.

"Drew?" James prodded.

"Nnngh… fine." Drew tossed the spoon down with more force than he'd intended, causing it to bounce on the stovetop a few times. He turned to James and said, "Okay, I **do** have a side project, okay? Okay? Good!" He looked at the floor, the table, the wall—_anything_ but James—before growling in frustration and turning back to the dinner. It was then that he noticed the bouncing spoon had left several saucy streaks on his impeccably clean stove.

As Drew reached for a rag while grumbling under his breath, James thought of another question. "What exactly is this 'secret project' that you're working on that would need to use the nanobot technology?"

Drew responded, but it was so low that James could barely tell that he had said anything.

"I couldn't hear what you said. Could you repeat it?"

"I was… wrkingonbabies," Drew said through clenched teeth, tossing the now-dirty rag on the wet counter.

"Babies?" James asked, flabbergasted at the very idea. "Drew, I thought we'd agreed, no more kids!"

The younger scientist's eye began to twitch. "Not _babies_. Bebes!"

"Uhm…"

"The robotic women I made in college?" Drew supplied.

James' eyes lit up. "Oh! _Them_." Suddenly his eyes widened as the full meaning of Drew's words hit him. "Wait…you're rebuilding them?" He stood up, his chair squeaking a little on the floor and asked, "Don't you remember what happened the last time you played with them?"

Drew chuckled. "How could I forget? My knight in shining armor," he added in a husky and semi-sarcastic tone.

While the idea of them being rebuilt to once again terrorize the neighborhood made James think twice, he couldn't help but to smile at the memory. "That was an interesting night. You half-naked, locked in the broom closet with your head stuck in a bucket. Me with a mop fighting off four rogue robots out for your blood. And Chen and Ramesh...they never have looked at humanoid robots the same way!"

"How was I supposed to know that making them more human would make them want to kill me for making them so homely?" Drew defended.

"Drew, they were tin cans on treads with shears for hands. I don't think it was too much to ask to give them working legs at least, was it?"

"They could have asked more nicely. But they can't complain now; I gave them legs this time!" the younger scientist added jovially.

James' smile faltered.

"And now that I've made them more perfect than they've ever imagined, there is no way they can deny their creator's wishes!" Drew declared grandly.

"Which are…?" James trailed off, his voice laced with a trace of worry.

Drew blinked. "Why, to be our boys' first dates, of course!"

James shifted in his seat a little. "Have you removed their weapons so the boys can't play with them?"

"Erm…well…" Drew pulled at the collar of his shirt. "The weapons are an integral part of their systems. They wouldn't be able to work right if they didn't have them. And they're an anti-bully mechanism. Who knows what kind of miscreants might go after our boys once they see the hot chickadees that they managed to get into their crib!"

"Drew, you **know** the boys will tinker with them. They may be women, but they're still machines; it's in the boys' nature." James shook his head. "I don't think this is a good idea."

His husband started nodding like he was listening, then stopped and looked at James, eyes wide. "_**WHAT**_?"

"It's not a good idea," James repeated in a firmer tone.

"But James, just think!" Drew tried to reason. "No one could pick on our boys ever again about never having dates!"

"They're too young to be made fun of for that."

"Preventative measure so they won't be made fun of," the younger corrected.

"The only way I'll approve of this is if you remove the weapons—"

"—which I will NOT do!" Drew interrupted vehemently. The two of them had been slowly moving toward each other during the argument until they were face-to-face. James was still fairly calm, being a wall in his decision, but Drew was determined to continue yelling at him. The rocket scientist looked at the pale man's reddened face and decided that they couldn't continue until his husband had a chance to cool down.

"Drew," James said wearily, "can we talk about this later?" The rocket scientist went over to the table and sat down with a plop.

"But… oh, fine!" Drew threw his hands up in the air with a dramatic groan before turning back to his concoction and mixing it with more vigor than was needed. James retrieved his newspaper from the counter and buried his nose in it.

Things were silent for a minute, the only noise being made was the metallic ding of the spoon in the pot as it was stirred by the younger scientist while the older one shifted his papers in mock reading. Both were lost in their thoughts, evaluating what the other had said for the inevitable showdown that would occur later on the topic.

"Don't push!"

Now, however, their focus had to switch to their two children.

"Mommy! Daddy! Guess what?" Teddy came rushing in, his older brother following behind in a rush.

"What Teddy?" James asked with a smile in his voice as he set the papers aside.

"Aunty Am…she promised that…uhm…we could…uhh…" Teddy stumbled over his words, either thinking too quickly or talking too slowly for the words to come out quite right.

"She said we could go visit her and see where we were born." Eddie looked at his parents with curiosity as they both stiffened in shock at the statement. "You haven't really told us about how we got here."

"Just like any other—" Drew started.

"Do you actually think we're fooled by that?" Eddie interrupted.

The two men looked at each other as the boys laughed, mouthing "Did you tell them?" while shaking their heads no.

"We both know that we weren't made the normal way," Teddy said triumphantly. Drew's jaw went slack. "There needs to be a girly mommy and a guy daddy for that." The elder man's eyes widened. "They hafta kiss to make a baby." And the jaw went back up again and the eyes shut in relief.

"So…can we?"

The two men traded looks as their boys eyed them hopefully.

"Well…I—uhm…James, why don't you answer them?" Drew said, finding an escape in getting the plates out for the meal.

"Boys, I'm not entirely sure what to say…" James said. He bought himself some time by coughing and rustling the papers. But the stares weren't ceasing. He could FEEL them staring even with the paper blocking their view. James' hopes that his husband would intervene were dashed when Drew turned and gave him the smirk that said that the "hapless dad" was on his own with this one. Eventually, he put the papers down and opened his mouth to speak.

Then he closed it.

Then he opened it again and turned to Drew.

"I think it's your turn to make this decision, dear," James muttered as he picked his papers up again.

"Nnnnargh… stuck being the mean parent again!" Drew faced the boys and curtly said "No." before going back to his almost-finished spaghetti.

"WHAT?" Both boys began yelling at the same time, each pleading the case for going:. Eddie was trying to use sense and logic to win and Teddy was using empathy, crying like they were moving and he couldn't find his Elepheel. James, the usual voice of reason, added to it as he tried to placate the boys with appropriate reasons for why they couldn't go.

Drew, meanwhile, was getting close to his breaking point. People were always worried about the temper of the younger Mr. Possible and were sure that he wouldn't last as a parent. 12 years later, they were all still worried, but the scientist had been able to hold his own. Every once in a while, though, he had an outburst that bordered on mad scientist rant material.

"NnnnnnnAAARRRGGHHHH!"

This was one of those times.

The other three quieted down as the pale man twisted to face them so sharply that they would've sworn he was on a spring.

"Why must you two make such a fuss all the time?"

"It's in the job description for being a kid. Especially for their moms and dads," Eddie countered. Having been through several of his outbursts, the rest of the family knew how to calm him down and stopping him before he started was key.

"Well…it shouldn't be!" Drew went back to mixing the pasta and the sauce together. He pulled it off of the burner and began to fix plates for all present. Then he was hit by an idea. An idea so evil, it could be said to be truly the most evil thing that Drew Theodore P Lipsky-Possible had ever done. Turning toward them with a smirk of triumphant evil, he added, "Since it is, though…that means that you can't go."

"But wwwwhhhhhhhhhyyyyyy?" Teddy whined.

"Because you are not mature enough to not go in there and break things." Drew placed plates covered in the Lipsky secret family recipe spaghetti in front of the three and went to get their forks.

Eddie caught on. "We aren't like kids _that_ much anymore. We're **totally** old enough to go and not break stuff."

Unfortunately for the boys, so did James. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to side with your mother on this one," he said, nodding his head as he accepted the utensil from Drew.

"We are too grown up! We've been acting like grown-ups for a long time!" Teddy threw in.

"Need I remind you of the Freeman pile-up?" Drew said confidently, placing the rest of the forks next to their intended users.

"How were **we** supposed to know that we weren't supposed to touch any of the robots...especially the car. It was just BEGGING to be improved." Eddie said, a mischievous, far-away look in his eye.

"Shouldn't the fact that the car kept trying to get away have told you something?" James asked.

"Maybe…"

"What?" James leaned forward to hear from the boys.

"Okay okay! We aren't 'mature' enough to go," Eddie grumbled.

"Good. I'm glad we settled that then." The three at the table dug in to their meal while Drew went back to get his own plate of spaghetti. The two boys grumpily began eating the noodles and sauce along with their father who had put his newspaper down to eat.

"This tastes kinda burned," Teddy commented with a scrunched face.

"Theodore, this is our anniversary dinner. To not eat it would be like not celebrating!" Drew said dramatically. James smiled in response as Teddy stuck his tongue out at the food and Eddie rolled his eyes.

"Just think of England," the elder boy suggested to his brother.

"Why would I think of England when I'm eating spaghetti?"

Eddie shrugged. "I dunno. I read it somewhere. Helps you to do stuff, especially when you're laying down."

Teddy frowned as his brother started eating again. "Doesn't make sense to me." A blink, shrug, and a glass of milk later and he was once again at work on his dinner.

"Guess what night it is?" Drew called through the kitchen door into the living room in a sing-song voice. He was still washing up the mess from dinner, taking out his stored energies from the argument on the pans, plates, and silverware.

"Uhm…Tuesday?" Eddie guessed, hoping that he wouldn't be subjected to one of his least-favorite activities after already having been grounded.

"Aww, you forgot?" Teddy asked his brother. The elder brother made cutting motions at his throat, but the youngest continued heedless of his brother's wishes. "It's FAMILY GAME NIGHT!"

Eddie winced, sighing and slumping into the couch as he had earlier that day while his brother danced around the room cheering. James walked over from the computer he'd used to quick check his e-mail (you never know when an alien race may contact the planet or something of the like or when your colleagues may contact you for help with research) and gave his eldest a pat on the shoulder as he sat down to his son's right.

"You know your mother likes to have his fun with the family whenever he can," James consoled.

"Why does he have to torture us like this?" moaned Edward.

"He's going to miss you two like crazy when you leave to go live on your own. He just wants to get some memories to hold on to, to be able to think back on them when he misses you and can't talk to you." James smiled sadly, suddenly giving his son a hug.

"Nnngh," Edward grunted slightly, his face coloring a faint red. He didn't do anything to wriggle out of the hug, though.

Teddy stopped dancing at the far side of the couch and tilted his head to one side. "Daddy?"

"Yes Teddy?" James asked without moving from the hug.

"Why would Mommy miss us? We're right here! We aren't gonna leave."

His father chuckled a little and raised his head to look his youngest in the eye. "Yes, and now you don't really like girls or boys. But someday, a few years from now, you'll see them differently. Might be girls, might be guys—heck, it might be **both** like with me—but you will see them differently."

Teddy gaped. "But I don't _want_ to!" he wailed pathetically.

"Yeah, really," Eddie said as he struggled out of his father's grasp. "Girls are icky and boys are pretty icky other than to play with."

"Really now?" James smiled. "Should I tell your cousin Jocelyn about how she's icky?"

"But she isn't a girl," Eddie argued. "She's really _not_ girl-ish. She was awesome! Seriously, did you **see** how she tackled me at the last family reunion?" He clenched his hands in front of himself at the memory. "I didn't even make it five yards!" A bob of his head followed along with, "Nope, Joss is _not_ an average girl."

"I still don't get it," Teddy said in a bid for answers and attention. "What do girls and boys have to do with Mommy wanting to play with us?"

It was then that James said something that froze the boys in confusion and fear. The thing that no child wants to hear unless it meant staying up later or more TV time:

"Because you two are growing up."

"But…what does that have to do with anything?" Teddy said through his horror.

"You'll get that itch to leave. Like a baby bird, you'll want to 'fly the coop', as it were," James answered. "You'll leave your mother and I to go out and have your own adventures in life. Maybe you'll be scientists, maybe you'll be office workers… heck, you might even end up as sports stars!" He ruffled his eldest's hair. "But the point is that you will want to leave. And your mother and I…we'll have mostly just our memories to comfort us."

Teddy thought upon this with wide eyes for a minute. He didn't even move from his spot at all, not a twitch, for the entire time. His father and brother were starting to worry—Drew sometimes did this and usually only came out of it once he came to a conclusion—when the other parent walked through the doorway from the kitchen.

"So what game will it be tonight?" Drew said as he wiped of the remaining droplets of water on his hands from washing the dishes on his slacks.

Teddy snapped out of his sudden moment of introspection and rushed over to his mother and tackled him into a hug. While Drew wasn't expecting it, he was able to compensate for the sudden action with a stumbled step back and a slightly pained and surprised gasp.

"Don't worry, Mommy," he whispered into Drew's shirt, "I won't leave you alone."

The man stood there for a second dumbfounded at the sudden promise his youngest just made. The look melted into a soft smile and he patted Teddy on the head and bent down a little to give the boy a hug.

"I know," he replied, nuzzling his cheek into his son's hair. "I know."

They stood there for a moment, just hugging in the middle of the room, before a throat clearing snapped them out of their moment. They both looked up in surprise at the couch where an amused James and an annoyed Edward sat eyeing them.

"While it's all fuzzy and such that you're hugging and wasting my time, can we pick a game already?" Eddie grumbled.

Teddy bounded for the couch and vaulted himself over the top to the surprise of his brother and parents.

"GAH!" the eldest yelled before he was crushed by the full weight of his brother.

"Can we play 'Slides and Steps'?" the youngest asked in varying volumes as his brother struggled under him.

"Get off!"

"I think we played that last week," James said. "What about 'Chances'?"

"I always lo—Agh!" Teddy went crashing to the ground as Eddie finally managed to maneuver himself enough to push his brother off.

"Sure!" the eldest answered. He jumped off the couch and ran for the hallway across from the kitchen. "In fact, I'll go get it right now."

Teddy gathered himself from the floor and scrambled back up to the couch. "He just wants to play that because he always wins," he complained, blowing a bit of loose hair back up onto his head.

"Now now," James said as he got off the couch and walked over to Drew, "I'm sure that—"

What he was sure of was not heard by the other two as a sudden blast blew away the far wall of their home. Drew jumped behind James, his sudden yelp not heard over the crumbling rock, as the wall fell to bright green flames and smoke. Teddy screamed his lungs out and cowered into the couch as James tumbled backwards a little, bumping into and keeping straight thanks to his husband.

As a quiet fell in the house, the three of them slowly opened their eyes to look. Teddy's head poked over the top of the chair, trying to look through the smoke and debris of what used to be the wall that faced the street. Two forms could be seen, shapeless at first, but became clearer as they approached.

The first form that came out of the thick grey smoke was a woman, walking in like she owned the place. A woman dressed in a harlequin-style catsuit with black hair down below her butt and light green skin. She sauntered into the room and stared down the two men with her sharp green eyes.

"Knock knock," she said, a malicious grin threatening to eat her face.

* * *

_Egads! Something resembling action! The horror! ...eh, not much action at all. Hope you silly people that are still reading enjoy this second chapter._

_This word count is about where I hit my glass ceiling for stories. Luckily, this one's written ahead of time so no worries there. XD  
_

_The power of cardboard compels you! Review this story!  
_


	4. Some People Just Don't Change

The husbands and their son stared dumbfounded at the woman that had suddenly appeared in the sudden hole in their not-so-sudden house.

Throughout the years, the Possible home had been subject to many a strange occurrence. Sentient robots that somehow developed from trying to make the perfect coffee machine, aliens attracted by a stray signal from the boys when they were trying to create a mind control device, vanilla flavored cocoa moo…but never before had they ever had this sort of shenanigans happen.

First of all, it was destruction that was caused by someone that wasn't a member of the family. Not a stray rocket, an unstable chemical, or a wall that finally just buckled from the stress of a family of mad scientists using it as a punching bag. No, it was an actual explosive of some sort that deliberately destroyed part of their home.

Second, it looked to have been a woman that had done the aforementioned damage. None of the Possible men could remember the last time a woman had entered their home, DNAmy notwithstanding. It was odd to see her standing there, hair blowing in an impossible wind (even with the newest opening in their home). They would have to check their ventilation later…

And third, it was not something covered in their amazingly extensive insurance policy. A miracle of sorts considering that they had even managed to find a company that would agree to their stringent demands such as having 'random and non-random falling object insurance' on top of several other things.

This resulted in exorbitant rates on their insurance. However, it was the insurance company that actually ended up on the wrong end for the most part considering how often they had to pay out on the policy. In the grand scheme of things, the insurance company and the Possible family ended up breaking even.

So when an event occurred that was not covered by their policy—like a super villain attack—it was a cause for financial concern.

That was why Drew was the first to snap out of his minor trauma-induced dumbfoundedness.

"What the…who…WHO DO YOU THINK YOU _**ARE?**_" the wife of the marriage screamed at the strange woman, either not remembering or ignoring the fact that she had just blasted a hole in their home which, for most people, would make her dangerous. He stomped out from behind his husband and over to the slightly surprised and bored-looking woman. "You just _blasted a hole_ in our HOUSE!"

"Well aren't _you_ just Captain Obvious," she quipped almost instantly. She didn't even have the courtesy of looking at him; instead, she examined her nails in an almost practiced manner.

That just served to make Drew even angrier.

"I suppose you do that a lot?" he snapped. "You seem to be oh so nochanlanterly about it. I don't suppose you'll actually be paying for the damages you—"

"Nonchalant."

The slightly mad scientist blinked, flustered at the sudden interruption. "What?"

"You meant nonchalant, not…whatever you just dribbled out." The woman gave him a withering glare. "What kind of dork is incapable of speaking their native language? How in the world did you even make it through basic English?"

"Oh boy," James sighed. He started to rub his head as if he had a sudden headache. "Here we go."

The dark-haired man bristled angrily and snarled "Who do you think you are? I have TWO PhDs AND I've invented more things than your father's father is old! I'm a genius!"

"Genius does _not_ equal smart," she said, smirking. "_Trust_ me, I know from experience." The green woman turned to her side saying "Isn't that right, chrome-dome?" She blinked as she realized that there was nothing beside her. Exhaling wearily, she said, "What in the world are you doing?"

From the hanging smoke still behind her a voice replied "You vere SUPPOSED to ANNOUNCE mein APPEARANCE! I am still doing dzer vaiting."

The woman scowled. "If you wanted someone to announce your arrivals you should've hired some wannabe villain," she growled. "I am _not_ your Funguy bunny announcer. Next time you want to do one of these things, you bring along that airheaded heiress or someone to do that. I'll just stay at the beach."

"FINE!" the masculine voice yelled. "I VILL ZEN! Und I shall do MEIN OWN introduction now! Zee how YOU vill like DAS!"

"Oh no," she said unconvincingly, once again examining her nails, "whatever shall I do? My loser boss is getting angry with me."

"Excuse me!" Drew interrupted. "I believe I was in the middle of complaining about _the huge hole in my house!_"

The woman gripped his lips with her fingers and made a shushing noise. "Quiet. The big kids are talking right now."

Drew tried to wrestle his lips free only to realize that her nails weren't exactly nails. More like very sharp bits of metal sewn into her gloves. He spluttered in surprise and began to frantically wave his arms about in whimpering panic. She rolled her eyes and said, "Why does everyone freak out when I do that?" before releasing her hold on his lips. The sudden move sent the pale man off-balance. He fell backwards, his arms now windmilling in an attempt to keep him upright. Luckily, his husband snapped to attention fast enough to provide a balancing arm.

While Drew tried to stand back up with James' help, rubbing at the now raw spots on his lips in dismay, the green woman snapped her fingers. "You take any longer and I'd better get paid overtime for this."

"You must GIFF MOMENTS OWF TIME for mine use," the voice complained. "You cannot haff ein grand entrance vith no preparations made, ja?"

His partner rolled her eyes. "Just get _on_ with it already."

"FINE!"

James and Drew had backed off during the fight the apparent partners in crime were having, partly out of hope of somehow grabbing Teddy and running the first chance they got. Unfortunately, their curiosity as to who the partner could be overwhelmed their sense of safety and they found themselves standing together, watching what they could of the feuding duo in a strange sort of fascination. Teddy was also obviously curious as to whom the thundering voice belonged to. He had jumped off the couch and sidled over to his parents, keeping his eyes on the slowly lightening dust cloud so as not to miss the villain's appearance.

No sooner had Teddy managed to partially hide himself behind his mother's leg that the sound of footfalls echoed out from the smoke. They stared, transfixed, as a broad figure began to emerge.

The shadow presented what looked to be some form of a robot. The head was round topped cylinder, the body was a rectangle, and it moved stiffly towards them. The hypothesis was supported by how extremely short the body was in comparison to the voice it projected. It certainly wouldn't be the first robot they had encountered. The boy that sometimes helped James with some of his calculations used one for remote manipulations.

But strangely enough, what emerged looked to be more a strange mutation of a regular human than a robot. Jaundiced skin, a body wider than their youngest was tall, a helmet that looked like an upside-down salad bowl, and an outfit that looked like it had been thrown together from various villain rejects was not what the group had been expecting.

"Mommy?" Teddy whispered as he tugged on Drew's pants. "Why is The Titan's little brother breaking our house down?"

"_HA!_" the woman suddenly burst. "The Titan's younger brother…I'll have to remember that one for later."

"_**BE **__**QVIET**__**!**_" the small man shouted, making everyone around him cover their ears. "I am doing der intimidating introduction!" Everyone was silent, mostly because they couldn't really hear anything after the loud shriek that somehow emanated from the villainous Napoleon. He cleared his throat dramatically before assuming a stance and announcing his well-thought introductory threat.

"All off you vill be immediately SURRENDERING TO MEIN MIGHT!" the short yellow man with the bowl on his head announced grandly. He stood, his feet parted unevenly to give him an aggressive stance as he waited for what he was sure would be the terrified reactions of his soon-to-be prisoners.

To his surprise and dismay, the two adults and the child were gawking at him in what he could only describe as complete disbelief. They just stood there, staring like they couldn't think of anything to say or do. Had these guys never been held against their will before or something?

He turned to the green woman and growled a little. "I am haffing to agree vith you, mein sidekick. Perhaps mine acksent ist too zick for der understanding, ja?" His hand waved unconcerned at the hostages and added, "You vill be TELLINK dzem of der SITUVATION!"

The woman rolled her eyes again, but walked forward so she was standing but a few feet away from the family.

She began, her voice sharp and quick. "My name" she lightly laid her hand on her chest "is Shego. The walking anachronism behind me" he sneered at her back but didn't say anything "is Dem—"

"**PROFESSOR** Dementor. **PROFESSOR!** Ve haff been over das detail bevore**!**"

"—entor," she continued, completely ignoring her employer's eternal yammering. Shego smirked when she heard Dementor huff ineffectually at her and complain to himself in German. "We—"

"Oh! OHHHHH!"

Shego stopped as she was interrupted to skeptically eye Teddy's hand waving out from behind Drew's leg. "You got something to say, sport?"

Teddy put his hand down and asked, "What didja use to blow up the wall? That was REALLY cool!" while shifting around on his feet excitedly.

Never was there a collective face palm moment as amazingly coordinated as the one that James and Drew managed. To everyone's (save for Teddy) surprise, Shego smirked and asked, "You've heard the old saying, haven't you kid?"

The boy, emboldened by the slightly positive response, stepped out from behind his mother's leg and suggested "Don't shake the nitro?"

She snorted and replied, "That's the dork saying for it. No, I'm talking about that good old gem…" She raised her right hand to his face, almost as if to stroke it, when it hesitated a few inches away from him and lit up in an intense green fireball. The heat was enough to make the young boy wince away, eyes watering, while a breeze ran through his hair. "The door to success is made with plasma."

* * *

"Aaaaand _that_ should do it." Chen took a few backwards steps to look at what he had created. It wasn't often that he found something that he enjoyed doing as much as this project. When he did, he threw himself into it whole-heartedly, enjoying every moment that it lasted. And once it was done he could get a definite sense of achievement.

Of course, it would never be complete until he flipped the switch.

Giggling like a gossiping schoolgirl, he practically skipped over to the switch that was resting just under the wall socket. A smile was plastered on his face as he reached down to—

A tune came dancing out of his study. The quick thrums of the woodwind instruments followed by the deep reverberations of the brass section told him that James was calling. Snorting in annoyance, Chen left his almost-finished project to woefully gather dust to answer his friend's call.

He walked into his study, the walls and surfaces covered in various scholarly articles (and a few pamphlets on vacation spots in the Caribbean), and jumped through the memorized path to his computer. The thin man hopped into his seat before clicking the incessant icon that was flashing on his screen. "What is it, James? Better be important; I **just** finished with that project that I told you about."

To his surprise, instead of the jovial face of his college buddy, the face of an anxious child met him. The kid's glasses were askance, the frame having been twisted in a way it wasn't meant to, and his brownish hair was mussed in a way that reminded him of the 80s and its feathered hair. What really caught his attention was the fact that the kid looked terrified.

"H-hello?" the little boy squeaked. "Can you help me?"

Against his better judgment of hanging up and not getting involved in whatever mess was going on over at James' place, especially during what looked to be a school field trip gone wrong, Chen asked, "What's going on? You look like you got on the wrong end of a drag racer."

"I don't know," the kid answered, looking down. The older man realized that he must be wringing his hands from the way his arms were fidgeting. "I was getting a board game from the closet and something exploded! I went to look and there was a green lady that—"

"Wait." Chen peered closer at the kid. "You're one of Drew's kids, aren't you?"

The child blinked, nonplussed. "You mean Mom? That's what Dad calls him when they're talking about serious things."

"Hmph." Great. His attention was taken by one of Drew's experiments. Odds are the green woman it had seen was probably part of a different experiment. Goodness knows that Drew liked to break the laws of biology and the country with some of the stuff he pulled. "I'm sure everything's fine, kid. Your 'mommy' probably just accidentally let one of his subjects out of the tube too early or something. It'll be just fine."

The test subject on the other end frowned. "My mom doesn't experiment on people. And this lady came blasting through the wall!"

Chen waved his hand around like he was swatting away a fly. "Yeah, yeah. If you're so worried about it, call that teenage hero or something. I can't be bothered by this."

"But I—" Chen shut the interface down. He'd have to talk to James about putting a password on his computer to keep Drew's projects from getting on and bugging him. As he stood up, the computer began to play James' tone again. The bespectacled man blocked the call and logged out of the messenger. If someone _actually_ needed him, they could call his house phone.

Now to get back to his model trains…

* * *

Teddy was thoroughly entranced by the dancing emerald flames just mere inches from his face. It was mind-boggling! He'd never seen anything like it. The closest thing he could think of was that time where Eddie and himself had tried to make themselves literal human torches with an incendiary full-body suit.

The young boy couldn't figure out why she called it plasma though. It was clearly a type of high energy expulsion made by combining several different compounds to create a violent chemical reaction. It wasn't _nearly_ hot enough to be considered plasma. His face hadn't melted onto the floor!

Drew and James had been frozen to the spot, fearful of accidentally bumping the villainess and burning their child. When she began to pull her hand away, snickering all the while at the wide-eyed parents, the pale partner grabbed their child and pulled him behind them.

"You'd better leave our son alone," Drew growled.

"That wasn't the nicest thing you could have done, Miss Go," the more easygoing man added, unsure of what to say. It was a bit of a new situation. One he had no idea how to handle. He didn't want to jump to conclusions or assume that she was going to hurt their son, but it was a close call for her to hold a hand covered in green flames next to his face.

"Oh great," Shego grunted, standing back up and arching an eyebrow at the younger man, "We just _had_ to come to a place that had a Mr. Rogers sound-alike." She took another look at James. "Scratch that. It looks like he lifted the entire 50s era in one swipe. So tell me," she leaned toward the man in question, a taunt in her smile "do you also think that women should stay in the kitchen and that those silly black people should know better than to want segregation to end?"

"Hey!" he protested, absent-mindedly smoothing out his shirt. "I happen to think that this is a classic look. Makes me look pretty spiffy at the company get-togethers."

"Spiffy? Geez!"

"Shego, ve haff matters more prezing dzen der fashion problems off dzis man," Dementor cut in. "You can do der mocking off zem later once I haff der formula in mein hands."

"Formula?" Drew asked.

"Yes. Der formula das vill help me CONQUER DER VORLD!" The yellow man posed dramatically again, this time raising a finger and pointing toward the ceiling. "It vill make mein army off plants INVINCIBLE!"

"…but if you have an army of plants, then why would you need another formula?" the child of the group queried from behind his mother.

Dementor's face turned a light orange as he sputtered for a second before hastily replying. "Es ist not of any concern to a small child like you!"

His partner, on the other hand, couldn't hide the overbearing grin on her face. "You really wanna know?"

"Yeah!"

"Shego…" her boss growled. "You vill not be undermining mein authority again, vill you?"

"That assumes you actually had authority to begin with," she retorted. "Anyway—"

"I vill CUT YOUR SALARY if you tell zem vhy I need der formula!"

"Aren't we just touchy today?" Shego said with a scowl. "Fine, I won't tell them the incredibly embarrassing reason for why you need the formula thing." She wandered over to the couch and flopped down.

"Vat are you doing?"

"Taking a break. You just need to find the formula-whatever, right? You don't need me for that." Her green and black claws swiped up the stray remote from the couch arm. "And I don't want to talk to you if you're on the rag."

"For der last time, _**I AM **__**NICHT EIN VOMAN**__**!**_"

"Your hormones say otherwise."

Dementor screamed out various words that sounded like incomprehensible mixes of English and German. What little of his face that could be seen was a bright orange. Drew made a mental note to look into what could have mutated the man to cause a result like that.

"Undankbare frau," the yellow-tinged man muttered.

"Nah. You're just dumb," Shego countered.

This prompted Dementor to stiffen and pump his fists for a few moments before turning to their flabbergasted hostages. "Ignorink mein less-dzen-zupporting assistant now...vich ovf you ist Doctor Possible?"

The husbands looked at each other, Drew shrugging slightly, before looking back at their captor. "We both are," they responded together.

"…vas?"

"We're married," the younger man emphasized as he held up his left hand to show off the ring. "I took his name. So we're both Dr. Possible."

A strange look flashed across Dementor's face before he shook his head, seeming to clear away his thoughts. "I am looking for der vone das specializes in der robotics."

"Once again, we both specialize in robotics," the black-haired man sighed in exasperation.

The villain paused in thought. "…dzis may take time das I had nicht thought das vould be needed."

* * *

**A/N:**

_Yes, I know. I had said it was written ahead of time. Unfortunately, I reread the thing and...it sucked. Really, it did. I do like this version better. Just one more chapter after this one._

_I totally made up some stuff in this one. I have no idea what Shego's plasma fire stuff is. Just figured a super-smart kid would try to come up with his own idea of what it was. Dementor and Shego's interaction and relationship are me trying to figure out how things would evolve between them. Since Drakken never existed to hire Shego, she sought employment with her second least-likely-to-work option of a mad scientist. I am a big proponent of the idea that Shego's whittling down of Drakken's ego contributed to his problems later in his villainous career, thus Shego kinda affecting Dementor's actions and effectiveness. Why no henchmen, for example? Simple: he thought he couldn't succeed without Shego, so when she demanded more payments he cut the quality of his henchmen._

_Thanks to my usual beta, Star-eva01 for editing all my grammatical errors and awkward wording. Also thanks to kgs-wy for checking it over one more time to satisfy my paranoia and fixing the pseudo-German accent so it's more realistic.  
_


End file.
